Members Meeting: Big Announcements to Celebrate!
THREE EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS
On Sunday we held our bi-annual members meeting. Thank you to those that joined us and gave up a bit of your Sunday afternoon to learn about what has been going on in the life of the church for the past 6 months and looking forward to where we believe the Lord is taking us in 2024. We discussed a lot, but below you’ll find the 3 big announcements we don’t want anyone to miss.
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2024
1. Roenicke Ordination
Jason Roenicke will be officially ordained as a pastor of Cross of Grace Santa Ana on January 21, 2024! He has been humble and demonstrated the characteristics of a qualified elder. You have received his leadership. He and Kayleigh have become a “Santa Ana family”. We can’t wait to officially call him Pastor Jason and celebrate his ordination together.
2. Leadership Development Cohort
A four session series on leadership will begin 2/3/24. Identifying and equipping new leaders is always a high priority for church health, fruitfulness, and the future of our gospel mission. We’re eager to see God raise up new leaders from within our church for the good of our church.
Who is it for? Anybody aspiring to leadership. Men with a sense of calling to the office of elder. Men who may be positioned as small group leaders. Men and women who may want to serve in the office of deacon. Anybody who wants to know what the Bible says about growing into a Christ-honoring leader. We’ll read The Cross and Christian Ministry by D. A. Carson, learn how to express and articulate theological concepts and ideas, and become equipped to offer biblical counsel to one another.
3. Senior Pastor Repositioning
We saved this one for last. This is a landmark moment for our church. Effective January 1, 2024, Jeff will be positioned in the role of Senior Pastor of Cross of Grace of Santa Ana, while Kyle will transition to the role of Associate Pastor.
Why is this happening? Because as we look to the future and ask the Lord whom he has best-prepared to lead this church in a senior capacity, we’ve become increasingly convinced that the answer is Jeff. The Senior Pastor the church will need in the next ten years and beyond is Jeff Schlieder. The pastoral team is in unanimous agreement. The West Region of Sovereign Grace pastors agrees. The Schlieder, Houlton, and Roenicke families are in agreement. And we’re filled with joy at how God has grown this church and led us to this moment.
Is this a good thing?
Yes. This decision has not been made in any way because of anything that has gone wrong. In fact, it’s because of what has gone very right by God’s grace. 8 years ago, Jeff came to Sovereign Grace Church of Orange seeking to be assessed and equipped for future pastoral ministry. He and Taylor joined the Santa Ana Church Plant Team. He started an internship, he progressed to residency, he became ordained as a pastor, he then became the first full time pastor in our church’s history. Throughout the whole process, the Lord has proven him to be a humble, servant-hearted, courageous pastor who loves his Santa Ana neighbors like few others. Though the Lord used Kyle to plant this church and lead it from its inception, he has led in a bivocational capacity and believes the Lord is still calling and positioning him to remain as a bivocational pastor. In short, Cross of Grace Santa Ana has grown to the point that it needs a full time Senior Pastor. God has graciously prepared and qualified Jeff to fill this need.
What’s the difference between Senior and Associate Pastors?
We believe that the Bible teaches that all ordained elders (pastors) of a local church carry equal authority in the local church. However, even that group of leaders must be led. Therefore, the Senior Pastor carries the designation of “first among equals”, which means that though equal authority is maintained, the Associate Pastors will defer and look to the leadership of the Senior Pastor for the day-to-day leadership of the team, carrying the vision for the future of the church, and maintaining the health of the leadership of the church.
How will responsibilities change?
You actually might not visibly see many differences. Jeff has already slowly, but steadily been taking on more responsibilities and has been taking a more public-facing role in many of the activities of the church. This has been intentional.
While you may notice some differences, such as Jeff doing the announcements and Kyle preaching a little bit less, the biggest change is responsibilities is the responsibility of leading the pastoral team. This is a responsibility not often visibly seen by the church, but the outcome, we hope, will be very visible.
How can we help with this change?
Three ways:
Praise God for his grace - God has blessed this church. With the ordination of Jason and this coming repositioning, we believe the Lord has strengthened our church and is preparing us for a season of magnified fruitfulness in mission in our city.
Pray for further grace - There will be new dynamics among the pastoral team. New responsibilities will indeed be delegated. We really believe this all will lead to fruitfulness. But unless the Lord builds this church, unless the Lord unifies this pastoral team, unless the Lord moves on the hearts of our unbelieving neighbors, we labor in vain (Psalm 127).
Help the church meet an elevated financial need - If Jeff is going to take on the responsibility of the Senior Pastor role, we believe that it’s our job as a church to pay him appropriately. Right now, he’s serving with joy, but the Schlieder home cannot live on his income alone. Their family is growing. We’re asking more of Jeff. Because of this, we’re asking you to prayerfully consider and seek the Holy Spirit for where you may have room to increase your regular giving or to make a special one-time contribution to help make this transition successful. Your Holy Spirit-motivated and God-glorifying generosity has brought us to this day. In order for this change to effectively and fruitfully take place, it will require even greater generosity.
HAVE QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions whatsoever regarding the members meeting or would like a hard or digital copy of the agenda, you can email us here.